Sentence Clause
A Sentence Clause is a grammatical unit in a linguistic sentence that contains both a subject and a predicate, forming part of or a whole sentence.
- Context:
- It can (typically) express a statement, question, command, or any other type of sentence structure.
- It can range from being an Independent Clause or Dependent Clause (Non-Independent Clause/Interdependent Clause), based on its ability to stand alone as a sentence.
- It can (typically) contain a Finite Verb that agrees in number and person with the subject.
- It can range from being a Clause Simplex to being a Clause Complex if it represents a logical relation between two or more processes.
- It can contain various types of phrases as its subject, including noun phrases, gerund phrases, and sometimes the subject can be omitted.
- It can be embedded within another clause, showing a hierarchical structure within sentences.
- ...
- Example(s):
- a Clause Simplex, such as:
- “Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius” with "Water" as the subject.
- a Clause Embedding, such as:
- “It is quite interesting that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius” with "It" as the main subject.
- a Cluase Complex, such as:
- “The fact that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius is quite interesting".
- ...
- a Clause Simplex, such as:
- Counter-Example(s):
- See: Gerund, Copula (Linguistics), Clause, Subject (Grammar), Finite Verb, Phrase.
References
2024
- (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_(linguistics)#Clauses Retrieved:2024-3-25.
- A sentence is typically associated with a clause, and a clause can be either a clause simplex or a clause complex. A clause is a clause simplex if it represents a single process going on through time, and it is a clause complex if it represents a logical relation between two or more processes and is thus composed of two or more clause simplexes.
A clause (simplex) typically contains a predication structure with a subject noun phrase and a finite verb. Although the subject is usually a noun phrase, other kinds of phrases (such as gerund phrases) work as well, and some languages allow subjects to be omitted. In the examples below, the subject of the outmost clause simplex is in italics and the subject of boiling is in square brackets. There is clause embedding in the second and third examples.
: [Water] boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
: It is quite interesting that [water] boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
: The fact that [water] boils at 100 degrees Celsius is quite interesting.
There are two types of clauses: independent and non-independent/interdependent. An independent clause realises a speech act such as a statement, a question, a command or an offer. A non-independent clause does not realise any act. A non-independent clause (simplex or complex) is usually logically related to other non-independent clauses. Together, they usually constitute a single independent clause (complex). For that reason, non-independent clauses are also called interdependent. For instance, the non-independent clause because I have no friends is related to the non-independent clause I don't go out in I don't go out, because I have no friends. The whole clause complex is independent because it realises a statement. What is stated is the causal nexus between having no friend and not going out. When such a statement is acted out, the fact that the speaker doesn't go out is already established, therefore it cannot be stated. What is still open and under negotiation is the reason for that fact. The causal nexus is represented by the independent clause complex and not by the two interdependent clause simplexes.
See also copula for the consequences of the verb to be on the theory of sentence structure.
- A sentence is typically associated with a clause, and a clause can be either a clause simplex or a clause complex. A clause is a clause simplex if it represents a single process going on through time, and it is a clause complex if it represents a logical relation between two or more processes and is thus composed of two or more clause simplexes.